


The Winter Soldier and Ducks in Dresses

by Accidental_Ducky



Series: MASHverse [7]
Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-09
Updated: 2016-05-09
Packaged: 2018-06-07 10:46:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6800566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Accidental_Ducky/pseuds/Accidental_Ducky
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Hug are a magical thing, Bucky,” she informs him, taking on a scholarly tone,” they cure everything from the common cold to broken hearts. The only thing they can’t help with is Wade’s chili; you go to the hospital if you ingest any of that and you ask for Doctor Dan because he’ll give you discount for pumping your stomach.” Bucky gives a low laugh at that, not realizing that she was being completely honest. Chimichangas, sure, pancakes, definitely, but chili? That was toxic where Wade Wilson is concerned.</p><p>“Got any other tips for cheering me up?” Her smile widens and she quickly pulls out her phone and gets on the internet.</p><p>“Ducks in dresses, sweetie pie.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Winter Soldier and Ducks in Dresses

Mari was planning on spending her free time in the movie room of the Avenger’s Tower—basically a private movie theater with its own popcorn machine, she’d had to beg for six months to get this and she was going to use it—but she pauses in the doorway when she notices a lone figure in one of the back seats. It took her a moment to recognize him in the dim lighting, but realization dawned when she noticed the bright metal arm and the jagged, bright purple X over what had once been a dark red star.

Bucky Barnes.

Her brown eyes flick from him, to the screen, and back to him, wondering why a grown ass man—older than even Stevie—was sitting all alone and watching Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf, his popcorn untouched and his long hair sticking up wildly in places from where he’d run his fingers through it. Mari didn’t know much about Bucky personally, only what Steve had told her, but she knew that her son had practically attached himself to the man’s leg the second he saw him.

She was debating whether or not to leave him be when she heard a faint sniffle and her mind was made up, her legs carrying her to the man before she even realized what was happening. She and Heather had taken up the mother-hen status within the Avengers since they joined forces and she wasn’t about to leave Bucky here crying into his food. Not happening.

“You okay, big guy,” Mari asks, stepping up beside his seat and looking down at him in concern. His blue eyes were red-rimmed and bloodshot with dark bruises beneath them, his dark lashes still had a teardrop caught in them, and she could tell he was struggling hard to keep his bottom lip from wobbling, pressing perfectly straight, white teeth into the plump flesh.

“Never better,” he answers after a moment, voice hoarse after crying. He refused to look at her again, turning his gaze back to the giant screen across the room where Scooby was frantically chasing after Shaggy. Mari purses her lips, staring down at him for a moment longer before letting instincts take over. Without a moment’s hesitation, she plops herself down across his legs and wraps her arms around him, forcing him into a hug.

She’s seen the way he reacts to touches, the way he completely melts when one of the kids show affection, the guilt that shines in his eyes when Steve rests a hand on his shoulder, and the way he tenses instinctively when anyone else is around him for long periods of time. The guy practically had a full-blown panic attack when Nat ruffled his hair, but that could be due to the fact that she’d tried to kill him when they were fighting on multiple occasions.

Now though, Bucky was tense for just long enough that Mari had started to pull back until his real arm touched her hip and he rested his cheek against her soft hair. There was nothing sexual about it; in fact, it was more of an embrace between family members. And what were they if not family now? Sure, the guy had tried to shoot Mari’s older brother—Tony, not Fandral because the latter of the two would have knocked poor Bucky into next week—and maybe he’d taken a shot or two at Mari, but that wasn’t him anymore.

This isn’t the Winter Soldier or that guy who was hunted by the government because of his past; this isn’t the same man that had shot repeatedly at everything he’d once held dear. This is James Buchanan Barnes—Captain America’s best friend, Heather’s adopted brother, Luke’s idol, and one of the few people that Penfold has sat on with affection; Loki was still complaining about that to anyone who’d take the time to listen.

So yeah, Mari would hug him for however long she had to, she’d kiss his boo-boos and patch him up when needed, and she’d even let him crash on her couch when needed. This guy deserved all the good things he could get after what he went through and she wasn’t about to deny him a good old-fashioned hug.

After a moment, Mari pulls back to look at him, brushing a few stray tears off his flushed cheeks and giving him a sweet smile that meant he was completely safe.

“Thank you,” he mumbles, looking embarrassed,” I, uh, didn’t know I needed that.

“Hug are a magical thing, Bucky,” she informs him, taking on a scholarly tone,” they cure everything from the common cold to broken hearts. The only thing they can’t help with is Wade’s chili; you go to the hospital if you ingest any of that and you ask for Doctor Dan because he’ll give you discount for pumping your stomach.” Bucky gives a low laugh at that, not realizing that she was being completely honest. Chimichangas, sure, pancakes, definitely, but chili? That was toxic where Wade Wilson is concerned.

“Got any other tips for cheering me up?” Her smile widens and she quickly pulls out her phone and gets on the internet.

“Ducks in dresses, sweetie pie.”


End file.
